Henry j



(No Model.) 7

H. J. GOLBURN.

SCHOOL DESK. No. 277,545. Patented May 15,1883.

K I l I WITNESSES A Md ENTOR Henry IC'oZurn W 8 bis Alf/0m N, PETERSPhoto-Lllhognphen Washington, ILC.

UNITED j STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. COLBURN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNORTO HIMSELF AND HERBERT BAKER,OF SAME PLACE.

SCHOOL-DESK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 277,545, dated May 15,1883.

Application filed April 8, 1882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. (JOLBURN, of Toledo, in the county of Lucasand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSchool-Desks, of which the following is a specification. 7

My invention relates to that class of desks known as foldin'g-hzaafdesks, in which the leaf or table may at pleasure be either lowered fromits normal inclined or horizontal working position, so as to hangvertically or be raised and locked in position merely by raising andlowering the leaf. Desks of this character are more especially designedfor school use, as they afford more space for the students to enter andleave their seats, and give more room for the movement of the studentswhen the desks are not in use. Theleaf or'table, when lowered, alsoserves as a cover to close the book-box, which is located beneath it.

The first part of my invention consists in a simple and reliable devicefor attaching the leaf to the desk-frame, so that it may he raised andlowered at pleasure, as above mentioned, merely by rocking or moving theleaf up and down. This part of my invention may be applied to variousclasses of desks, brackets, folding tables, and other articles where itis desirable to have a leaf or table which may be raised and lowered.

The second part of the invention consistsin forming the leaf or table ofa desk of the char acter shown .in the drawings in two parts hingedtogether, so that the outer portion or section may be folded over ontothe section that is hinged to the frame, when the leafis raised andlowered, so that it will not interfere with the knees of the person atthe desk. This part of my invention is designed for school-desks whichare arranged side by side in close rows.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through aschool-desk, showing my improvements applied thereto. Figs. 2 and 3 aredetail views of the device which permits the raising and lowering of theleaf,

and Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 2.

The desk-frame A is provided with the usual book-box, B, and the foldingseat 0, for the (No model.)

occupant of the desk next in front. This seat may be hinged in the samemanner that the leaf of the disk is, as will be hereinafter described,or in any other suitable manner.

The leaf D of the disk is secured to the brackets E, which are formedwith circular enlargements F, having hearings on the hubs (l' on theframe. The enlargementF is provided with a notch, f, in which a catch,H, engages to lock the leaf in its Working position, as will bedescribed. This catch is shown as consisting of a gravity-pawl; but aspring-pawl, sliding bolt, or any other suitable device may be used.

A disk or plate, I, the edge of which coincides with that of the annularenlargement F of the bracket, turns on a bolt projecting centrally fromthe hub G, and is held against the end of the hub with sufficientfriction to prevent its rotation, except when forced around by the pin 6on the bracket, which works in a recess, g, in the periphery of thedisk. The disk is cut away at i, so that when that portion of the diskcoincides with the notchfin the annular enlargement of the bracket thecatch H candrop into the notch and lock the leaf in its elevatedposition. The parts are so arranged that when the pin 6 is against theupper shoulder, g, of the recess 9 in the disk the cut t will coincidewith the notch f and permit the catch H to drop into the notch, and whenthe pin is against the opposite shoulder of the recess the full unbrokenedge of the disk will be over the notch and prevent the catch fromentering it. Now, in raising the leaf, the pin 0 will rest against theshoulder g and force the disk to move with it, leaving the notch fexposed, so that when the leaf has reached the proper point the catchwill fall into the notch, and thus lock the leaf in its elevatedposition. To lower the leaf it is first raised a short distance, thedisk being carried around by the pin a, and the catch riding out of thenotch t, then, as the leaf is lowered, the disk remains stationary untilthe pin strikes the lower shoulder of the recess; but by this Thedifferent positions of the parts in raising and lowering are shown infull and dotted lines in Figs. 2 and 3. If it is desired to hold theleaf in more than one elevatedposition, other notchesf should be madeinthe bracket, and the recesses i and g correspondingly lengthened inorder to give the requisite range of movement, as wilLbe understood.

The details of the device above described may be varied in some respectswithout departing from my invention. For instance, the disk might beheld by a friction-spring instead of by frictional contact with the hub;or a pivoted plate, not disk-shaped, may be employed. These, as well asother changes, will readily suggest themselves to skilled persons.

The second partof my invention is illus trated in Fig. 1, where it willbe seen that the leat'D is made in two sections, and that the outersection, 1), is hinged at'd, so that it may be folded up, as indicatedin dotted lines,

when the leaf is raised or lowered, in order 5 shown. I

What I claim as my invention is-- 1. The combination, substantiallyasset forth, of a hinged leaf-supporting bracket, a bearing on which itturns, a catch which dogs or locks the bracket in an elevated position,a disk or plate placed over the notched enlargement of. theleaf-supporting bracket, and means whereby the'plate is intermittentlymovedby the raising and lowering of the bracket to alternately exposeand cover the notch in the bracket, and alternately permit and preventthe engagement of the catch in the notch.

2. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the leaf-supportingbracket, its annular notched, enlargement, the hub or hearing on whichthe bracket turns, the catch whichlocks the bracket, the recessed diskor plate which alternately exposes and covers the notch in the bracket,and the pin on the bracket which works in the recess in the plate.

3. The combination, substantially as set forth, of the leaf supportingbracket, its notched annular enlargement, the catch which engages in thenotch, the hub or bearing on which the bracket turns, theintermittentlymovable disk or plate cut away at i and recessed at g, andthe pin on the bracket which works in the recess in the disk.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 31st day ofMarch, A. D. 1882.

HENRY J. oomsueu.

' Witnesses:

, RUFUS H. BAKER,

WM. BAKER.

